The Canadian consulate will be saying goodbye to its easy-going boss Gerry Campbell this week. The career diplomat is returning to Vancouver after four years as consul general.

'I'll miss a lot of things,' he reminisced. 'Of course, you miss people the most, but I'll also miss the hiking. Hong Kong is a lot like Vancouver in that the mountains and oceans are always nearby. Maybe that's one reason I'm attracted to Hong Kong. There's also always something happening here. You go down to Causeway Bay at 11pm, and all the lights are on and there's thousands of people in the streets. That's kind of fun.'

Campbell's connection to Hong Kong goes way back. His first posting was in 1979 to assist in handling the Vietnamese boatpeople - 'it was a nice assignment because it got me out of the office'. Also, Campbell's late wife, with whom he had three daughters, was a Hong Kong Chinese. Naturally, he has lots of great memories. 'I've spent almost 10 years here. I got to do a dragon boat race in the harbour off Tsim Sha Tsui. Less pleasant was running in the Matilda Sedan Chair Race one year, which nearly killed me. I had to be dragged off the finished line.'